Roundtable Discussion; The Future of Mineral Sands. Watch the video here.
Just noticed that Sharon Alice Urias, who recently appeared on FRR's list of attorneys in California, has now been appointed to SN's list for the Texas (shares) case. She is replacing one of the Haynes & Boone lawyers.
I believe the shares case is dependent on the California result. This dual appointment of Ms. Urias for both cases seems to bear the linkage out.
Thanks, Looed - that's a relief. If he had bailed out, as an active participant in the procedures with an up-to-date knowledge of what's going on with the case (and, therefore, knowing whether the lawyers could ever expect to be paid) it would have been very worrying. As it is, it lookf like all the current lawyers are either getting paid or expecting a payday, so there's still a decent hope. Phew.
That's 'longer than anyone else' on the FRR side.
Curiously, one of the FRR attorneys still employed (an 'attorney to be noticed') on the fiduciary case is a John Wesley Mills, who is still stated as being a Taylor English Duma employee. I think he's been on the case longer than anyone else.
Thanks, R8pilot.
Mr. Doerr is yet another attorney from the enormous firm of Greenspoon Marder. He seems to be based primarily in NY, hence the Pro Hac Vice allowance granted by Judge Seeborg to allow this out-of-state lawyer to practice in this fiduciary case in Cali. Below is from Greenspoon's website entry about him. I would say that paras 1 and 4 are the most relevant ones for FRR's purposes.
FRR are obviously determined to win this trial. Um - gentle reminder - the actual trial isn't due to come into court until 31/10/22. The next 4 months are scheduled to concentrate on discoveries and disclosures between the legal teams.
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Mark T. Doerr is a partner in the Litigation practice group at Greenspoon Marder. His work focuses on investigating, litigating, and resolving business disputes involving alleged deceptive practices and fraud. Mr. Doerr represents individuals and businesses of all sizes in a range of matters involving breaches of contract, fraud, RICO claims, theft of trade secrets, breaches of fiduciary duty, and First Amendment and Constitutional issues.
Mr. Doerr has significant expertise in intellectual property and media matters relating to trademarks, libel, false light invasion of privacy, right of publicity, and other reputational and defamation-related concerns affecting publishers and the subjects of published content.
Mr. Doerr has conducted and managed investigations in response to regulatory and government inquiries regarding accounting fraud, LIBOR manipulation, securities fraud, common law fraud, healthcare fraud, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and the False Claims Act.
Mr. Doerr also has substantial experience with transnational disputes involving multi-billion-dollar claims and judgments in foreign jurisdictions. He has represented companies of all sizes in domestic and foreign investigations, litigations, and arbitrations spanning multiple jurisdictions at the same time. Mr. Doerr has brought and defended numerous Section 1782 actions for discovery relating to disputes in non-U.S. jurisdictions.'
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The latest couple of documents (96 & 97) from the fiduciary case in California, dated yesterday, introduce Daniel Francis Nageotta into FRR's attorney line-up (which makes 6 on FRR's active list for this case, and 5 on the 'terminated' list (to use the court's colourful vocabulary)). Mr. Nageotta is based in Arizona, so has had to receive permission from Judge Seeborg to work on this case in California. Both he and the other recent newcomer, Ms. Urias, are from Greenspoon Marder, a very large pan-USA legal firm. As Avi8r has already posted, Ms. Urias is Greenspoon's group leader in Intellectual Property matters. I would guess that Mr. Nageotte is her underling.
In a nutshell, the fiduciary case depends on proving that Hope's directorship was used as a tool to illicitly takeover FRR. Hope will doubtlessly say that he was merely acting to protect Outrider's loan to FRR. (A dubious motivation for a director in that it automatically divides his loyalty, but let's put that to one side - this posting is long enough already!). Ms. Urias's knowledge of what constitutes an aggressive takeover (as opposed to simple debt protection), together with her experience of appropriate precedents, should be very useful to FRR's cause.
Avi8r - I'm ever so sorry, I really am, but I'm afraid I have to counter your posting again (it isn't anything personal, honest!).
The timetable for the trial has been changed a couple of times since doc. 86, and the latest change was on 16/08/21.
Below are the latest dates from the official notification, via my posting at that time. The latest actual dates for each item are are the final date on each line. ATB.
a. Completion of Non-Expert Discovery is continued from August 20, 2021 until 21/01/22.
b. Last day to designate experts and provide Expert Disclosures is continued from September 17, 2021 until 18/02/22.
c. Last day to designate rebuttal experts and provide Rebuttal Expert Disclosures is continued from October 15, 2021 until 18/03/22.
d. Completion of Expert Discovery is continued from November 19, 2021 until 22/04/22.
e. Last day for Pre-Trial Motions to be heard is continued from January 13, 2022 until 16/06/22.
f. Final Pretrial Conference is continued from May 4, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. until 19/10/22.
g. Jury Trial is continued from May 16, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. until 31/10/22.
IT IS SO ORDERED. DATED: August 16 2021.
Oh dear, now I am confused. Everything you say about Ms. Urias is completely correct, Avi8r, but the docket referring to her appointment to FRR's legal team was from the California court case (the fiduciary one - docs. 94 & 95) , not Texas.
What her specialisms have to do with fiduciary matters, I don't know - perhaps we'll find out in due course. Unless, of course, they've assigned her to the wrong court case! I think we're all in danger of getting befuddled with the things.
She sounds like she might come in useful, anyway.
Thanks, Looed. ZM is obviously in a very bad place financially, and I think that explains much of his behaviour. He has lost his very substantial share in the metal-dealing company and perhaps incurred a huge debt in the process. He has also lost his job with FRR - I don't know how much, or even if, he got a salary, but we can be reasonably sure from SN's court testimony that his expense allowance was substantial, especially by Georgian standards. So, in the space of a few months, he has gone from being a high flyer to, very possibly, wondering how he is going to make ends meet. From hero to zero.
That, I think, largely accounts for the non-payment of bills during his last trip to America, the disappearance of all the pipe-work from Frontera's Georgian sites and, of course, his attempted takeover of FRR as a company.
As a footnote, I will add that ZM is one of the relatively few people who has seen all the geological reports on how much gas and oil FRR has claim to. He obviously believes it's worth fighting for, which is somehow reassuring.
Wasn't there a report on here some time in the last couple of months, that creditors were taking a large metal-dealing company that ZM is involved in (as part-owner?) before the Georgian courts for bankruptcy proceedings? If this is so, and ZM's finances are as parlous as it implies, it might help to explain the desperation of his current manoeuvres in the Texas courts. We can see that his chances of success are absolutely minimal; but drowning men, they say, clutch at straws.
2 new docs. here - once again, nothing startling, just a change of attorneys by SN. Daniel H. Gold has been stood down, and Kent Geoffrey Rutter and Ryan Philip Pitts have taken guard. Both are from Haynes & Boone. It was noticeable before that all the Haynes & Boone people had been taken off this case, which seemed odd as they seem to be doing a great job everywhere else. I find it reassuring that they're back.
No changes in Outrider's line-up.
ZM remains unrepresented.
OK, don't bother waking up.
This is just the judge rubber stamping the timetable put forward by both sides lawyers in doc. 50.
No changes.
Good night.
Not nearly as interesting as today's news about the reinstatement, but the court cases are plodding on.
Today, as expected, OMF have requested that the dates for this trial be moved to follow the Cali (fiduciary) case. The relevant part of the document reads
'(OMF) desire (movement of dates) to have the opportunity to fully explore possible settlement of this action. Circumstances surrounding the parties' business operations have delayed efforts to fully discuss settlement'.
Note the plural apostrophe after 'parties' so that's both OMF and SN.
They then request a delay in order to co-ordinate this trial with the fiduciary case in California.
The current dates and proposed dates for the Texas trial, listed below, are copied from doc. 50.
Scheduling Order Item------ Current Deadline Proposed Deadline
Plaintiff’s Deadline to Designate Experts and Expert Report Due----- October 1, 2021 March 1, 2022
Defendants’ Deadline to Designate Experts and Expert Report Due------ October 29, 2021 March 31, 2022
Discovery Deadline------ November 19, 2021 April 22, 2022
Deadline to file Dispositive and Daubert Motions------ February 18, 2022 July 15, 2022
Deadline to file Non-Dispositive Motions------- May 4, 2022 September 23, 2022
Joint Pretrial Order------ June 3, 2022 November 18, 2022
Final Pretrial Conference------- June 20, 2022 December 6, 2022
Bench Trial (3 days)------ June 27, 2022 December 13, 2022
WHEREFORE, PREMISES CONSIDERED, Plaintiff Outrider Master Fund, LP and Defendant Steve C. Nicandros respectfully request that the Court grant this Motion to Amend Docket Control Order based on the requested schedule presented herein.
(End of doc.)
ZM is stated to still be uncontactable. He is still unrepresented. Docs have been sent to his last known address, in Georgia, as required by law.
Following last week's updates on the latest court delay, I've just re-checked the docket sheet for the fiduciary case in California. Nothing new, but just noticed from the list of attached lawyers that on 16/08/21, the 2 Haynes & Boone attorneys didn't just withdraw from representing FIC (now a Hope/OMF vehicle), they also withdrew from representing FRC. Don't worry - FRC are still listed as having 4 (non-Haynes & Boone) representatives in the case.
Perhaps the H&B crew are now busy elsewhere - weren't H&B involved in the FRC activities in Georgia?
It's also noticeable that the Texas shares case (OMF vs SN & ZM) has not yet been rescheduled to follow the delayed fiduciary trial, on which the shares trial judgement is dependant.
Very confusing. I strongly suspect that the court's paperwork may still be catching up with reality, and that more documentation might follow. In particular, more attorney withdrawals from FIC (those 4 remaining FRC attorneys are still also listed as representing FIC, though I think these listings of lawyers on the docket sheet may be primarily for public reference - if so, there's no urgency in an update). A rescheduling of the shares case would also appear to be in order.
I do also wonder whether the reduction in FRC lawyers reinforces the idea that negotiations between the two parties have advanced to the point that Frontera no longer fully expects the fiduciary trial to take place. This could be so if FRC have evidence to prove breach of fid. duties by Hope during his time as a director. Bear in mind that if Hope/OMF lose the fid. case, they will owe FRC tens of millions ($65m? claimed, from memory) + very heavy expenses, and that could easily be more than their company is now worth (and therefore more than FRC could hope to receive). I'm guessing that the trial is something that FRC is keeping very much alive in the background of the negotiations, partly in order to concentrate Hope/OMF's minds - "you swear to the judge that you have no case in this matter, and you will pay x amount in damages, or you go through the trial and lose everything" (but not necessarily word for word!). Needless to say, successful negotiations would save a lot of time and effort.
The last paragraph is all uninformed speculation on my part, of course.
Brilliant find, Cymro.
At least it looks like Frontera are not to blame.
For info, Gharibashvili is the current prime minister!!! and a long time close friend and business associate of Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgia's billionaire and practical controller of the Georgian Dream party.
And we thought our politics were rotten!
Apologies. I wrote that the trial should finish at 31/10/21. Wishful thinking! As shown on the actual document, that should have been 31/10/22. Never mind - it's looking more and more likely that the trial is going to be negotiated out of the way, anyway.
Sorry, but it's yet another postponement of the trial. As you can see, following the change in FIC's attorneys, it's been knocked back another 5 months, and the trial is now scheduled for completion on 31/10/21! On the upside, it looks as though this could bring about a successful conclusion to the negotiations between the two sides, thus removing the need for the trial to proceed. We shall see.
Here is document 93. I've amended the layout to make it more readable, and in the process have changed the format of some dates to make it easier to type! :-
The Court, having considered the Unopposed Ex Parte Motion for Continuance (the “Motion”) filed by Plaintiff Frontera Resources Corporation on August 16, 2021, and having considered the other applicable pleadings and papers on file in this action, and having determined that notice of the Motion has been proper under the circumstances and good cause appearing, HEREBY ORDERS AS FOLLOWS:
1. The Motion is GRANTED; and 2. The trial date and other deadlines are continued as follows:
a. Completion of Non-Expert Discovery is continued from August 20, 2021 until 21/01/22.
b. Last day to designate experts and provide Expert Disclosures is continued from September 17, 2021 until 18/02/22.
c. Last day to designate rebuttal experts and provide Rebuttal Expert Disclosures is continued from October 15, 2021 until 18/03/22.
d. Completion of Expert Discovery is continued from November 19, 2021 until 22/04/22.
e. Last day for Pre-Trial Motions to be heard is continued from January 13, 2022 until 16/06/22.
f. Final Pretrial Conference is continued from May 4, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. until 19/10/22.
g. Jury Trial is continued from May 16, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. until 31/10/22.
IT IS SO ORDERED. DATED: August 16 2021.
HON. RICHARD SEEBORG.
Just to clarify the above. Four new documents (nos. 90 to 93) were produced yesterday. 90 and 91 were about Haynes & Boone's withdrawal from representation of FIC. I've copied part of it below because it contains a bit of info which, though not new, might be of interest. It's the mention of 'settlement negotiations' (between Hope/Outrider and FRR) just after '4.' and also near the end of the snippet.
"The attorney-client privilege precludes any further disclosure concerning those conflicts although I am prepared to discuss such matters with the Court as the privilege will allow. 4. The circumstances outlined in the Motion to Withdraw have hampered Haynes and Boone’s ability to conduct discovery in this action and to pursue the ongoing settlement negotiations to a conclusion. To that end, Haynes and Boone approached counsel for Defendants in the within action about a continuance of the current case deadlines. Ross Parker of Munsch Hardt, cocounsel for Defendants in the within action asked for a proposal on the dates which was communicated to him on August 11, 2021 via email. Mr. Parker did not object to any of the dates or timing in the proposed schedule. On August 13, 2021, Mr. Parker sent an email indicating that, while they did not have authority to join the request for continuance, the request for continuance was unopposed. I sent Mr. Parker a draft of the ex parte motion for continuance of case deadlines on August 15, 2021 and he subsequently approved its filing. The change in deadlines will eliminate any potential prejudice from the withdrawal as to Frontera International Corporation and allow the parties to continue their settlement negotiations. I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on August 16, 2021 at Prairie Village, Kansas. /s/Mark Erickson________"
Document 93 is a grant of the requested withdrawal from Judge Seeborg.
Document 92 is about the 'current case deadlines' mentioned above. I'll put those on a following post.
247 heavy pages. Good grief. How do lawyers stay awake?
Sorry to hear of your loss.
Gosh, the last 2 days have been amazing. I'd say the following will put you in the picture - afraid they're quite long, but they're well worth reading.
Wed. 11.41 & 11.48 from Looed. News that 'Frontera's' sites have been sealed by the GG IN ORDER TO PREVENT ZM'S OUTFIT FROM MISUSING THEM!!!!
Wed. 14.07 & 14.08 from cymro. Press statement from FRR (yep, that's our boys!).
Wed. 15.52 from cymro. Nadia Turnava , GG minister, being nice to FRR (us)!
Thurs. 06.00 from cymro. More about the GG closing down ZM's 'Frontera' operations.
Thurs. 12.29 from cymro. ZM's 'Frontera' appealing to GG. (There are more of these appeals from ZM and friends). I suspect they will fall on stony ground!
Of course, there are other good postings in this period, too - but I'd say these are the main signposts.
Welcome back!